A Sweet Beginning
by LolAya
Summary: Just an expanded version of a few romantic events between Neil and Rachel. Title is corny, I know.
1. Chapter 1

Another break from my other fanfics.

Wrote this one a few months ago, but just remembered to post it now. I blame college.

Well, this one will be short. Probably 4 to 5 chapters? Not sure when I'll be able to write the other ones down, either. Such an irresponsible author.

And about Harvest Moon. Oh god. This game. It's been around for quite a while now, and I am honestly amazed at myself for not knowing of it sooner. The time I officially learned about and took an interest in the series was when a gamer friend of mine just had to rant about it to me when she got Animal Parade a few years ago during the summer and played it obsessively. Oh, and her favorite character is Wizard (whom I have known and grown to adore as well).

So since I started really late, which was also about the time I learned about emulators, I decided to start with the newest one around: A Tale of Two Towns. Now I know how captivating that game is. I picked Bluebell as my starting town, and I just can't choose between Ash and Cam (squee). And after I knew about A New Beginning that is exclusive to the 3DS, I just had to get one. And I did. Best decision in my life.

And so, here we are.

Special thanks to kureha-alpha from deviantART for her amazing artwork on Neil! Keep being awesome!

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Part One: A Sweet Winter

Neil stared horrifically at the cake sitting right in front of him, with the cake patiently staring back at him, as if anticipating the moment when Neil would lift his fork and get a taste of its chocolatey goodness. Or in this case, chocolatey hell. As anyone would've guessed, today was Winter Harmony Day, and as per the town tradition, it is a day when girls would give chocolate to boys. Every girl in town knew he had something against sweet stuff, so most of them greeted him instead of giving him chocolate. However, there was this one girl who knew better than anyone how much he hated anything related to sugar, and yet still had the nerve to give him an enormous chocolate cake.

He already felt a migraine coming up even before he touched the cake. But what was he supposed to do? Flat out reject the gift? Even a pea-brain would know how rude it would be to reject a gift from a girl, and he sure as hell wouldn't want to see her disappointed face.

So he accepted it. He complained about how he doesn't like sweets as he took the gift from her hands, but he still accepted it. And that idiot still smiled at him even when he blatantly said he hates sweet stuff. At least her smile made him feel better about himself. However, that feeling quickly dispersed when he arrived home and realized that he'd have to deal with the gift.

_'What am I going to do about that...thing?'_ Neil asked himself. He debated with himself for a while until he reached a conclusion, which led him currently sitting in front of the cake, conducting a staring competition with it and a fork at the side. _'It's a chocolate cake, and an enormous one at that. It must've been a chore to bake it, so does that somehow make me special?'_

He remembered how she gave a similar cake to every boy in town. He was about to eat it, but then he didn't feel very special anymore, and his appetite disappeared. He looked at his own cake, and he noticed something. He quickly recalled that every cake she gave out was only plain old chocolate cake, while on his cake there were the words "Happy Winter Harmony Day" written in pink icing, with a drawing of a cow just under it.

The corners of his lips unconsciously tugged upwards as he reached for the fork and proceeded to bring a small piece into his mouth. He braced himself for the nausea he always feels whenever something sweet enters his mouth, but this time, nothing of the sort came. Instead, it was like a solid piece of happiness spreading out and melting in his mouth as he chewed sending warmth all over his body in this chilly winter day. It was a pleasing sensation, and he found himself craving for more cake, something that has never happened before. He continued to send the cake into his mouth until nothing but crumbs was left on the plate and he felt stuffed. Stuffed but happy.

Neil cannot recall a time when he devoured an entire cake all by himself, so this must be the first time it has happened, and he was more than willing to do it again, if only there were more cake and he still had room for more. This was the sweetest winter he has ever had, and even if he wouldn't say it out loud, he was looking forward to the next one already.

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It's a bit short. I didn't plan on writing anything long anyway.

What do you guys think? Please leave a review, thank you!


	2. Chapter 2

And here's part two, written about the same time as the previous chapter.

Eh, didn't think too much while I was writing this. I just had a feeling that I needed to write this down.

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Part Two: A Sweet Spring

Rachel scratched the back of her cow's neck the way it liked it, and the cow mooed happily, leaning its neck against it's owner's hand. It was a fine spring day and Rachel has just finished all of her other jobs on the farm, leaving her with nothing to do but play with her animals.

"Oh, who's a good cow, huh? Yes you are~" Rachel cooed as she continued to scratch the cow's neck, not noticing that somebody was approaching. Suddenly, the cow gave out another happy moo and moved toward that person and away from Rachel, surprising her. Turning around, she saw Neil awkwardly standing there, with the cow happily nuzzling against him. "Oh, Neil! It's a rare sight to see you here!"

"Uh, yeah..." He seemed to relax when he patted the cow but quickly tensed up when Rachel spoke to him.

"Oh, why don't we go inside the house and chat over a cup of tea? Or maybe warm milk, if you like? I have both Great Yak Milk and Great Milk! Which do you prefer?" Rachel asked as she led Neil into her house.

"Oh, uh, Great Yak Milk, please..." Neil said after he sat down on one of the chairs at the dinner table. "Wait, you already have the yak you bought from me producing Great Yak Milk?!"

"Yeah! I play with her everyday and bring her to the Animal Sanctuary every chance I get, don't you remember?" Rachel reminded Neil as she took out a bottle of Great Yak Milk and heated it.

"Well, now that you mention it..."Neil remembered all those times Rachel went up to his stall and requested to go to the Animal Sanctuary with her animals and how she played with them while there.

"Here you go!" Rachel disrupted Neil's train of thought as she put a steaming cup of Great Yak Milk in front of him. He noticed Rachel was having the same thing as him. "Since you're the animal expert around here, think you could gauge the quality of my yak by just drinking it's milk?"

Neil raised an eyebrow at Rachel's playful smirk. Was she challenging him? "Of course I can."

He took a sip, and that sip was enough. The milk was fresh, obviously just milked that day, and it was sweeter than any Great Yak Milk he has tasted. "This is...amazing! If I remember correctly, you got the yak from me just last winter, right? To think you'd be able to let your yak produce Great Yak Milk at such a short time, and such quality...! You obviously cared for your yak very much. And there's also the..."

Rachel let Neil ramble on about her yak as she quietly sipped her milk, the smirk on her face growing wider as Neil continued to talk about the yak. Neil noticed this, and realizing he was rambling non-stop, he quickly shut up, and drank his milk to hide his embarrassment. "S-sorry, I got, uh, caught up with the yak and..."

"Aw, you're back to your usual self again. And just when I was thinking how fascinating you looked when you talk about things you like..."

"E-excuse me?" Neil almost spit out his milk. Did Rachel just say...she thought him fascinating?

"Ahahahaha, forget what I said." Rachel laughed and waved it off, changing the topic before Neil could ask any further. "Anyway, what brings you here? You rarely come to my farm unless you have a reason to."

Her statement somewhat hurt, but it was also true. It also brought Neil back to reality. He was here with a reason, but he somehow cannot... "Ah! That's right!"

"N-Neil...?" Rachel was surprised by his sudden outburst. A second ago, he was having a nice, relaxing chat with her, the next second he stands up and starts awkwardly fumbling around his pockets as if searching for something. And Rachel also couldn't understand why he was blushing furiously.

"F-found it!" Finally, Neil fished out something from one of his pockets and handed it to Rachel. "I came here to h-hand you this!"

It was a large, rather flat box with a flattering pink ribbon tying it shut, and it's weight suggested that it was loaded with something. "Huh? This...?"

"Don't get me wrong! That's just a thank-you gift from last winter, a'right?! No other intentions!" Neil looked away. "And sorry it isn't much compared to what you gave me. I don't like sweets, so it's my first time making them. And it might not taste the best either..."

"Ah, today is Spring Harmony Day!" Rachel remembered. "Aw, thank you, Neil! I wasn't expecting a return gift from you, actually..."

"You weren't...?"

"Yeah, I thought you wouldn't eat the cake I gave, so..."

"Are you serious? If you didn't think I'd eat it, then you shouldn't have given me that in the first place!" Neil scolded Rachel, but quickly softened. "I _did_ eat it, though..." _'and it was the best cake I've had in a long while...'_

"Well, I still wanted to give you something, even if you didn't want it, and it _was_ Winter Harmony Day and...wait, you _ate_ it? The entire cake?"

"Dummy, do you think I'm the type of person who would waste food just like that?"

"No, but I did not think you would finish the whole cake." Rachel smiled at him. "Thank you. That makes me happy. And for that, I'll eat all of these up, no matter how awful they might taste." She raised the box of treats Neil gave her.

"Hey!"

"Just kidding." Rachel laughed, and then smiled warmly at him. "I'm sure they're taste wonderful, since they're from you."

"Y-yeah." Neil felt his face heating up, so he looked away and finished the rest of his milk. "A-anyway, I, uh, gotta go now."

"Alright. Bye Neil, see you around."

"Yeah." Neil said as he left the house. Just as he stepped out, though, he almost bumped into Rod, who had a box in his hands and was about to knock on Rachel's door.

"Oh, hey Neil! Wow, you're early! I thought you weren't a morning person." Rod tilted his head in confusion. "But since you're here, I guess you already gave Rachel your gift. Looks like you beat me to it, huh? Man, and I was kinda hoping I'd be the first one to greet her Happy Spring Harmony Day today."

Rod jokingly punched Neil's arm, and he knew Rod meant nothing by, or at least he hoped so, but there was still an unpleasant feeling that rose in his chest. _'As if I'd let you have that chance.'_

"Hello, Rod! Oh, Neil? You're still here?" Rachel went out of her house to see what's the noise all about, and saw the two boys standing right in front of her door.

"Yeah, I'm leaving." Neil said and left Rachel's farm, not willing to hear the conversation between her and Rod. He felt confused by the new and strange feelings he felt today, and he knows he has to sort them out soon.

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The next chapter is in the process of being written down, but I got stuck somewhere. Will probably take a while before it will be posted. Sorry. Again, I blame college.

What do you think? Please leave a review! Thanks!


	3. Chapter 3

Huzzah! Here we go. Chapter 3. Also wrote this about the same time as the first two chapters but completely forgot about it as I only uploaded the first two chapters into Doc Manager.

Also, uploading this in the school library while I'm in the middle of doing my essays and reports. Procrastination FTW.

And c'mon, people, please please PLEASE leave a review? I need to know how you think about my story, whether good or bad, and if it's bad, leave a bit of constructed criticism so I can improve my work. I'm counting on you :D Thanks! *gives out free cookies*

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Part Three: A Sweet Confession

"Neil!" Neil heard a familiar voice call him and he turned to see Rachel running up to him. After she stopped right in front of him, she took a few minutes to compose herself before talking again. "I-I got something I've been meaning to give you for a while now, and I want to know if you would accept it or not..."

"Hmm?" Neil watched Rachel pull out something from her rucksack, and he felt his own eyes widen in surprise as he took a good look at what Rachel was holding in her hands. He never thought Rachel... "You're joking right? Y-you can't be serious?"

However, Rachel's bashful face as she held up the ring was nothing but serious. "Hummm... Okay, I understand." Neil looked around to make sure no one was around. "Let's go over there. This isn't the place to do this."

As Neil led the way, Rachel quietly followed behind him not saying a word as they walked past the river and up to the mountain. As they silently trudged along the trail, Rachel would make glances at Neil's back, a truck load of things going through her head.

_'What if he rejects me? What if he doesn't even like me that way? Is that why we're going someplace else? So I won't feel humiliated? I know I decided to give him the ring, but maybe I should've thought about this more before impulsively buying and showing him that ring...'_

"We're here." Before she could unknowingly bump into his back, Neil's voice brought Rachel back from her own thoughts and she took a look around her.

"Huh? The Harvest Goddess' Pond..." Rachel was confused.

"..." Neil stared at her for a bit before speaking up. "You're a strange one, aren't you? Saying you want to go out with me and all..."

That brought Rachel back, and she turned towards Neil as she felt her heart suddenly beating really fast.

"I was never interested in love in the first place. And I don't get along with people very well..."

Rachel found herself hanging onto every single word that came out of his mouth. _'Is this finally it? Am I going to be rejected?'_

"But with you... It's... I got a little closer. Err, I mean, I think I was able to get more involved with you." Neil was initially looking away as he said those words, but he turned his eyes towards Rachel as he said the next line. "That's how I feel. Are you still sure you want to go out with me?"

Rachel felt so nervous that, when it was obvious that Neil was accepting her confession, she thought she could faint from relief right there. But of course, that wouldn't do. She was so relieved that all she could do without fainting was to smile and take the ring out once more.

"I-I see. I suppose that means we'll try dating each other." Neil could feel the temperature on his face rise as he saw the ring again, it became hotter when he saw Rachel's warm smile, and finally, he thought his face would explode as he took the ring and slipped it onto his finger. The coolness of the metal band around his finger was cold, a stark contrast to how he was generally feeling. "But...I don't really have any idea how to proceed from here."

"Ahaha, now that you mention it, me neither." Rachel reached up and scratched the back of her head. "This is my first time confessing to a guy, and I haven't done anything like dating in my entire life."

Neil wasn't sure whether he should feel happy at the fact that he is Rachel's first boyfriend or distressed that this is the first romantic relationship both of them has and none of them know how to proceed. Panicking, he quickly had to think of something or else the atmosphere will turn awkward. "Ah, yes. Don't people normally change what they call each other at times like this?"

"Do they?" Rachel tilted her head. "What do you want to call me, then?"

"Can't really think of anything myself right now." Neil lied. He's thought of a few, like 'babe' or 'princess', but he can't really bring himself to call her the first one, and he would probably sound like Allen if he called her the latter one, something that would be completely out of character for him and just plain strange. "How about you? Do you want me to call you something else?"

"Hmm, if it's something only Neil can call me...then how about 'Rae'?"

"Alright. I've got it. Call me what you wish, but no funny names, okay!" Neil said in a threatening manner, but Rachel only smiled brightly at him as she nodded. "Well, it seems that's decided. I'll be heading home now. See you, R-Rae."

Neil hurriedly left the place out of embarrassment, but he knew Rachel still caught his blush when he saw her smile grow wider. Just the thought of being the only one who has the right to call her that made him feel weird inside, happy, and yet embarrassed. But he'd have to learn to get used to it, or else Allen and Rod will make fun of him every chance they get when they see his luminescent blush.

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I had to think of a nickname for her, as it would be underwhelming if I didn't. Since I don't know anybody named Rachel, I had to think of a nickname myself, and I guess Rae sounds good?

As for the conversation, Neil's dialogue is completely the same as it was in the game. Or maybe I changed it a bit. Can't really remember what I did at this point... But it's for sure that I inserted Rachel's dialogue all by myself! (Of course you did, you idiot).

I hope I didn't make any mistakes in the story. I read it like three times and can't seem to find any. This is what's good with having a beta-reader, or at least get it peer-reviewed, but I don't really like the idea of asking somebody I don't really know to read my story, and I don't have many friends who likes the same fandom as I do, or ever likes reading at all. Oh well.

What do you think? Please leave your thoughts on the review section! Thanks!


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